Top 100 Albums of 1980: Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s — Part 1

Today we unveil the results of Part 1 of our year-long Best of the ’80s feature, an ambitious, year-by-year poll of Slicing Up Eyeballs’ readers to determine just what were the best albums of each year of the 1980s — and then, when that’s all said and done at the end of 2013, we’ll run a monster best-of-the-decade poll to hash out the overall champs.

For the 1980 poll, we logged votes from 3,360 of you, with the top 2 vote-getters each receiving more than 1,000 votes apiece. We had a few hitches with this first poll — hence the delay in publishing results — but we’ve learned from it and will do things a bit differently when we launch the Best of 1981 poll next week.

So thank you all for voting and sharing your thoughts. Take a look at the Top 100 list below — and feel free to offer your own take on the results, good or bad, in the comments below.

SLICING UP EYEBALLS READERS POLL: TOP 100 ALBUMS OF 1980

1. Joy Division, Closer

BACKSTORY: The second and final Joy Division studio album, released two months to the day after the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. The band recruited Gillian Gilbert and continued on as New Order.SINGLES: NoneBAND: Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen MorrisPRODUCER: Martin HannettBUY IT: Amazon.com (CD, digital, vinyl), iTunes (Digital)

2. The Cure, Seventeen Seconds

BACKSTORY: Robert Smith took The Cure into darker territory for the band’s second album — a record that marks the introduction of bassist Simon Gallup, still Smith’s longest-running sideman.SINGLES: “A Forest”BAND: Robert Smith, Matthieu Hartley, Lol Tolhurst, Simon GallupPRODUCER: Robert Smith and Mike HedgesBUY IT: Amazon.com (CD, digital, vinyl), iTunes (Digital)

4. U2, Boy

BACKSTORY: The debut from U2, featuring the band’s first U.K. hit single, “I Will Follow,” and two of the three songs from its debut EP. The cover art was changed in the U.S. over pedophilia concerns.SINGLES: “A Day Without Me,” “I Will Follow”BAND: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr.PRODUCER: Steve LillywhiteBUY IT: Amazon.com (CD, digital, vinyl), iTunes (Digital)

5. Echo & The Bunnymen, Crocodiles

BACKSTORY: The debut from the Bunnymen found Ian McCulloch and Co. replacing their original drummer — a drum machine named Echo — with the real thing, for a dark, moody introduction to the band.SINGLES: “Pictures On My Wall,” “Rescue”BAND: Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Les Pattinson, Pete de FreitasPRODUCER: The Chameleons and Ian BroudieBUY IT: Amazon.com (CD, digital, vinyl), iTunes (Digital)

6. David Bowie, Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)

BACKSTORY: For his 14th album, and the follow-up to the so-called Berlin trilogy, David Bowie re-established his pop credentials, entering the ’80s with hits such as “Ashes to Ashes” and “Fashion.”SINGLES: “Ashes to Ashes,” “Fashion,” “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps),” “Up the Hill Backwards”BAND: David Bowie, Dennis Davis, George Murray, Carlos AlomarPRODUCER: David Bowie and Tony ViscontiBUY IT: Amazon.com (CD, digital, vinyl), iTunes (Digital)

7. Bauhaus, In the Flat Field

BACKSTORY: The debut from Bauhaus, a goth-rock landmark, if not the very creation of the genre, finds the band in peak form, with classics such as “Double Dare,” “God in an Alcove” and “Stigmata Martyr.”SINGLES: NoneBAND: Peter Murphy, Daniel Ash, David J, Kevin HaskinsPRODUCER: BauhausBUY IT: Amazon.com (CD, digital, vinyl), iTunes (Digital)

9. Siouxsie and the Banshees, Kaleidoscope

BACKSTORY: The third Banshees’ album saw the debut of former Magazine and Visage guitarist John McGeoch and drummer Budgie, who would later marry Siouxsie Sioux and join her in The Creatures.SINGLES: “Happy House,” “Christine”BAND: Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, Budgie, John McGeochPRODUCER: Siouxsie and the Banshees and Nigel GrayBUY IT: Amazon.com (CD, digital, vinyl), iTunes (Digital)

10. Pretenders, Pretenders

BACKSTORY: The first album from Chrissie Hynde and Co. featured debut single “Stop Your Sobbing,” produced by Nick Lowe, who famously turned down the chance to work on the full record.SINGLES: “Stop Your Sobbing,” “Kid,” “Brass in Pocket”BAND: Chrissie Hynde, Martin Chambers, James Honeyman-Scott, Pete FarndonPRODUCER: Chris ThomasBUY IT: Amazon.com (CD, digital, vinyl), iTunes (Digital)

No kidding. I’ve read this list four or five times now, and it’s mind-boggling how many good records came out this year. Insane!

I was 14 and didn’t have access to a lot of these records yet (I was heavy into the Police and Cheap Trick) but I discovered most of the others within a couple of years. Anyone who was really dialed in in 1980 must have been overwhelmed. What a year….

Lotus – You said it! I was 17 in 1980 and I have almost half of these. My order would be different, but it is a sweeping glimpse of the vitality of the post-punk market, which was peaking then. I personally think that 1981 was the acme, with ’82-’83 ebbing and the decline seriously underway by 1984. But yes, it was almost overwhelming as it unfolded. As a teenager I had almost no money but managed to keep up pretty well with what was happening.

Yes, as jl points out, this was a poll to determine the best albums of 1980, not the 1980s overall. Next up will be a 1981 poll, then ’82, ’83, etc. When all of that’s one, we’ll have a best of the decade poll.

great stuff Matt. Perhaps when you release your lists your Strangeways Radio show could coincide with a nice tie-in? So maybe next Tuesday or whenever you’re putting together your next show, you could do say one song from each of the top chosen albums or something and then pimp this post? Just a suggestion.

This is so utterly awesome…I cannot wait to see the rest of the results for the decade!!! Really looking forward to poring through an ultimate list of 1000 amazing records! Such a lot of time and love has gone into this…wonderful…thank you so much.

I love this too! My top 4 made the top ten! The Police appear to have been edged out. A lot of great music in 1980, though I discovered most of it a few years later since I was 9 for most of the year. I can’t wait for 88 and 89, my junior and senior years when REM, The Smiths, The Cure, U2, and Peter Murphy were providing my soundtrack. Making out to Depeche Mode…

Good thing you had Killing Joke, Ultravox, Gary Numan, Cabaret Voltaire, Visage, John Foxx, XTC, Echo & The Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, Siouxsie, Magazine, The Clash and Joy Division in the list or it would be totally wrong…

Interesting to see how the albums fell…1980 was incredibly strong…however, INXS’ debut in the top-25? No way is it greater than Killing Joke, The Sound, Comsat Angels, Teardrop Explodes, Simple Minds, Pylon, Magazine, Visage, Flowers or Wipers to name a few…

As happy as I am that sanity prevailed (i.e. “Closer” at #1), I am seriously disappointed that voters actually think there were 50 albums better than John Foxx’s perfect masterpiece “Metamatic”. C’mon people!!!

This is such a fantastic list. 1980 was truly an amazing year for music.I would swap out U2 for Killing Joke in a New York second. As for the rest of the order, hard to argue with any of it. And even if I could, why? Time to re-order my Spotify playlist. Looking forward to 1981.

Awesome, looking forward to the rest of the decade. ’80 was a strong year for many genres. (Though somewhat outside the scope of this website …) it was probably heavy metal’s greatest year. In addition to the listed Ace of Spades, there was Maiden’s first album, Back in Black, Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell, Diamond Head’s Lightning to the Nations and numerous others.

Flesh and Blood I would probably have in my personal top 5 for ’80. My favorite Roxy album besides Avalon.

Ok, here’s my thing. I remember Zenyattà Mondatta being released in 1980 because I recall listening to “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” on Phoenix, Az’s mighty AM station, K-15. Where things get fuzzy is with The Clash’s “Sandinista!”, which I don’t have any recollection of before, like, 1983. I can only chalk it up to:
living in the U.S.A in the 80s &
living in Arizona in the 80s &
the general state of American radio back then.
Lag time can be a bitch!

The Clash were effectively done in May 1983 when Jones got sacked. Well some could speculate it was over in ’82 with Combat Rock. AZ may have been behind but I doubt they were that far behind. What were you smoking?

Glad to see Toyah was in the list, However Sheep farming in Barnet was 1979 (even though it was in independent charts for well over a year) The blue meaning was 1980 and this would account for a goth album (@Colleen)Sisters etc only came about a few years later.

hear, hear! i have always teetered on the brink of “classic rock” and “alternative”, which is why i find this era, and 1980 in particular, so fascinating, as it was a pivotal point where “rock”, punk, post-ounk, new-wave, disco, new romantic, and even hip-hop and dance music were all converging and influencing each other, to the extent that many older rockers (queen, billy joel, pink floyd, hall and oates, stones, kiss etc.) were incorporating those sounds into their music.

…but i digress. point it, duke and arc of a diver (released the last day of 1980!) are two of my all-time favorite records, for the emotional content and the sense of melody, not to mention the vocal and instrumental performances–in winwood’s case, a one-man show. other non-“college-rock” records i love from ’80 include joel’s glass houses, queen’s the game, steely dan’s gaucho, hall and oates’ voices, and–yeah, i know–reo speedwagon’s hi infidelity.

Hmmm, having started college in 1979, this was my freshman year. What was the pre-requisite for being on this list… not being played on the radio (or MTV) after 1990? Appealing to guys that wore eyeliner? Disappearing at the end of the 80’s?

It seems whoever designed this list went for groups that either were one hit wonders or weren’t mainstream. At least U2, The Cars, and The Pretenders got recognized. Obviously biased against any kind of hard rock or albums that sold to the masses.
AC-DC “Back In Black” come on, one of the all time best sellers in history. The fact that this album didn’t even make the list makes it null and void.
Black Sabbath – “Heaven and Hell”
Iron Maiden S/T
Bruce Springsteen – “The River”
Judas Priest – “British Steel”
Ozzy Osbourne – “Blizzard Of Oz”
REO Speedwagon – “High Infidelity”
Rush – “Permanent Waves”
Bob Seger – “Against The Wind”
Styx – “Paradise Theater”
Van Halen – “Woman And Children First”

Given the number of ties toward the end of the list, it probably means that there were only a couple of votes for each of those records, and a couple of ninnies like “Classic Rock Boy” who were equally confused.

So, I was actually in college in 1980 and I’m being told that my opinion is invalid. I hope most of you are at least 50. I lived it. I remember. I will guarentee if you walked down the dorm rooms in 1980 you’d hear AC/DC more than any other band on this list.

BTW, my point was that there was a bias towards hard rock and mainstream success in the list. I could easily have thrown Def Leppard, The Scorpions, Saxon and Riot. All bands just starting out and leading the British New Wave Of Heavy Metal. So what is the definition of a college band that makes the bands I listed, which actually were around and selling out arenas in 1980, so off the mark? Like I said, I was in college and these groups were as prevalent on MTV and the radio as any bands on the list.

As for you Brad, I could come up with something better than “classic-rock-boy” to describe you and the people that thought these “here today gone tomorow MTV pop icons” were all the rage, but I’ll leave the name calling to you. The Bow Wow Wows…. LOL. They were really big in Japan I hear.

Bill- You started off your comments by taking swipes at the music listed here, and then CONTINUED to do so, even after I (and others) explained to you that most of the bands listed here where going before and after 1980. It’s clear from your remarks you don’t think most of these bands, or their genres, are important or influential – and you are wrong. There’s nothing wrong with this music not being your cup of tea, but when you disparage the bands here and their listeners it just makes you look like a giant bag of douche.

Not invalid, just misinformed. The definition of “’80s college rock” within the context of this site (and, I dare say, common understanding) is that period in which punk, post-punk, new wave and various other non-mainstream genres coalesced at campus radio stations. It has nothing to do with what you were likely to hear on commercial radio or at a frat party, or what “most people” thought was cool. Follow the “About Us” link at the top of this site for a better idea of what’s going on here.

I have no doubt you and your friends were listening to Styx and REO Speedwagon at that time. You probably still are. But the rest of us weren’t. We’d all figured out that there was a lot going on that you couldn’t hear on regular commercial stations. That was “’80s college rock.” And that’s what this site — and these polls — are about.

i was 7 turning 8, and i loved reo and journey and genesis and billy joel then…and the cure and joy division and gabriel and kate bush later. i love music. a great melody or a sincerely conveyed sentiment, even if it’s simple, charms me no matter what subgenre it comes from. if you saw my favorite albums of all time, you’d find the cure, the smashing pumpkins, the sundays, juliana hatfield, prince, the foo fighters and bjork and the sugarcubes alongside billy joel, genesis. steely dan and steve winwood. it’s only rock and roll…but i do, indeed, like it.

Yeah, once in a while I’ll give Styx or REO a spin but I am just as likely to be listening to The Black Keys, Muse, The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, etc..
My cd collection is vast and wide. BTW, I do have a handful of the albums on the above list. I must admit I did no read the “About Us” section, only the article that precedes this list which claims to be selecting the best albums of 1980. If it would have said “the best albums of 1980 that only people who thought it was cool to listen to obscure, underground groups” then maybe I’d have gotten the gist. Sorry to waste everyone’s time trying to interject quantitative methodology into the conversation.

And one last thing, I was buying lots of albums of groups no one ever heard of, just not lame ass post “punk, post-punk, new wave and various other non-mainstream genres” albums. I liked hard rock with lots of guitars, a lot of which (Priest, Maiden, Saxon, Scorpions, Rush, weren’t considered mainstream at the time. Many would argue Rush was never mainstream). It would be a few years before they became mainstream. So what you are saying is if band started out underground and experienced success then they are disqualified even though in 1980 no one had ever heard of Iron Maiden or Def Leppard and they weren’t being played on mainstream radio stations.

I agree that several of the bands you just cited were indeed out of the mainstream at that point, and didn’t really enjoy commercial airplay until “Pyromania” and “…And Justice For All” and so forth came along and made those sounds safe for programmers. (Although Rush had been a commercial radio staple for some time.) And in fairness, the college station I was at did have a “speed metal” show two hours a week at one point, although I don’t remember who they played.

But the fact remains, hard rock isn’t what people think about when they think about “80s college rock” (at least as this site defines it, which for our purposes is what matters). That should become clearer as these polls progress.

but it’s all so relative…husker du was on the heavy side, and mould almost produced nirvana; the replacements rocked hard as well and then one of them ended up in guns and roses; the cult is usually considered a college/alt-rock band but in reality is pretty much a preening cock rock band with some glammy/new-wavey touches; robert smith adored hendrix and floyd and the pixies, nine inch nails, jane’s, fishbone and faith no more, among others, could get as heavy and aggressive as anything termed “hard-rock.” if you ask me, the original “alternative” rock music was proto-progressive 60s stuff like floyd, genesis, yes, and king crimson, the innovative folk-rock of joni mitchell, nick drake, traffic and fairport convention, and the sophisticated pop of the beach boys, the zombies, and of course the beatles.

I think it’s clear now. I get it. I don’t belong here.
But “that paved the way for Nirvana and the alternative revolution”. You may want to read up on Nirvana a bit more. The books I’ve read have pointed out that Kurt Cobain was influenced as much by groups like Sabbath as any of these alt-genre and punk rock groups.
I think I will still check back at the lists out of curiousity and for a good laugh. I just won’t comment anymore. Live long and prosper.

This list underlines (as if it were needed) just what an embarrassment of riches our music scene was back then. Kinda makes you weep for kids today (Beiber, One Direction, Rhianna, etc). Especially pleased to see The Wipers on there. In the UK no-one had heard of them till the ’90s, by which time they’d split up. Was that the case in the US? Looking forward to 1981 poll…

‘Remain In Light’ was just so far ahead of its time. I don’t think Talking Heads were working with ‘samples and loops’ though – at least not in the modern sense. Apart from some Eno jiggery pokery, it’s all the band and augmenting musicians.

London Calling from the Clash was released in the U.S. on January 5, 1980. Critics and writers already had their best of 1979 lists completed when London Calling was released in the U.K. on December 14, 1979. Yet I see no objections to the ineligibility of London Calling for your 1980 (and 1980s) list. It is confounding!

I am glad to see Midnight Oil’s Bird Noises on the list.
My top 10 would include some not on your list:
Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band – Doc At The Radar Station
John Lennon and Yoko Ono – Double Fantasy
James Blood Ulmer – Are You Glad To Be In America?

All I have to say is the list is a great exercise.
Some people just need to be a little more honest with their assessment of certain albums.
I mean go to see a Cure concert (even back in the eighties) and see how many songs they would play off of Seventeen Seconds.
And no I don’t mean a tour for the album Seventeen Seconds!
For instance The Head on the Door tour.
I know because I was there and even they didn’t think enough of SS to play that much of it.
And before anyone says it was the HOTD tour just remember Cure shows are like 3 hours long
So they would have had time.
I mean pick the album because
It’s good not because you like
The band.
Because I lie the Cure too but
SS – really number 2??